BACK IN THE DAY WITH: Jyhan Artut and Andree Welge write German darts history at the 2013 World Cup of Darts

When you think about the development of darts in Germany, many people will probably think of Max Hopp first. Easily forgotten however, is that before "The Maximiser," there were three other Germans in possession of a PDC Tour Card.

In addition to Tomas "Shorty" Seyler, whom some will recognize from Sport1 broadcasts of various darts tournaments in the past, Jyhan Artut and Andree Welge were also active on the PDC circuit. These two German players managed to make German darts history at the World Cup of Darts in 2013 when they took Germany to the quarter-finals to the delight of the Hamburg crowd. Something no German had ever managed before.

The German team finished the group stage in first place with four points after beating Finland (Jani Haavisto and Jarkko Komula) 5-3 and the United States (Darin Young and Larry Butler) 5-3. In the last sixteen, Artut and Welge faced Krzysztof Ratajski and Krzysztof Kciuk of Poland. The two teams played a match with many twists and turns.

Artut made it 1-0 via double 16 before Welge doubled the German's lead. The Germans were on their way to a 3-0 lead, as they were on 155 after nine arrows. Then the engine faltered, and Artut and Welge were not out within eight visits. Kciuk took advantage on behalf of Poland and halved the deficit to 2-1.

As long as the third leg lasted, so fast was the fourth leg. After nine darts, Germany was on 122, and this checkout was thrown out by Welge via single 18, treble 18 and bullseye. Artut and Welge then took a 4-1 lead with a 22-darter, needing only one more leg to win.

But with the finish line in sight, the Germans began to get nervous. In the sixth leg, Welge and Artut on 121, but Welge then missed the bullseye to finish it off. Both Germans would leave eight more match darts unused in the following three visits on double 8 and double 9. After Ratajski and Kciuk survived a total of nine matchdarts from the Germans, Poland closed the gap to 4-2 in a 23-dart leg of their own throw.

The German team seemed to have dealt the blow quickly and started the seventh leg of the match with two 180 scores. Welge and Artut did not falter and managed to lock up the match with a 12-darter. Thus Germany booked a place in the quarter-finals for the first time in the history of the World Cup of Darts. Germany's fairy tale came to an end in the quarterfinals. They lost 2-1 to Finland, whom they had beaten in the group stage. Artut gave Germany a 1-0 lead by beating Jani Haavisto 4-1, but Welge lost 4-2 to Jarkko Komula. A pairing match had to bring the decision and this battle was decided 4-3 in favour of the Finnish duo.

In 2015, Artut would again reach the quarter-finals at the World Cup of Darts, then alongside Max Hopp. The renewed German team was defeated 2-0 in the quarter-finals at the Nations tournament by the iconic English duo of Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis. It turned out to be one of Artut's last appearances at a television event. 'The Eagle,' who competed in the World Darts Championship five times between 2010 and 2016, made one more appearance at the Worlds a year after his quarterfinal match with Hopp. That later turned out to be his last major television tournament with the PDC.

Welge played his fifth and last world championship at the 2014 World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace. In that year, the German also competed in the World Cup of Darts for the last time. After a Euro Tour entry in 2016, Welge disappeared from the circuit for several years until he showed up again in 2023 by reaching the last sixteen at the PDC Europe Super League.